Carolina Hurricanes: History of the team’s All-Stars
By Ryan Henkel
All-Star Weekend is a time to celebrate some of the NHL’s best and brightest stars. Throughout the team’s history, the Carolina Hurricanes have had quite a few of their own standouts.
The Carolina Hurricanes have had 12 All-Stars that have represented the red and black swirl over the years, and a 13th will make his All-Star debut Saturday night. It would have been Dougie Hamilton in St. Louis, but the Canes will now be represented by Jaccob Slavin after Hamilton suffered a gruesome leg injury last week against Columbus.
While it is a complete shame that Hamilton will not get the chance to go, the league’s recognition of Slavin is welcome, as he has long been one of hockey’s most underrated players. Before he hits the ice on Saturday night, let’s take a look at the history of Carolina’s All-Stars.
1998 All-Star: Vancouver (1997-98 season)
None Selected
1999 All-Stars: Tampa Bay (1998-99 season)
Arturs Irbe (12-8-3, five shutouts, 0.929 save percentage, 2.00 goals-against average)
Keith Primeau (16G, 13A, 39P)
The Hurricanes’ very first All-Stars were goaltender Arturs Irbe and forward Keith Primeau. Irbe had a rough start to the season but put together five shutouts in a short time frame to really boost his All-Star stock. Primeau, on the other hand, was busy piling up pucks into nets, putting up a 39-point season before January.
While Primeau didn’t stand out much in the All-Star events, Irbe showed off his skills immediately, winning the Goaltender Competition by allowing only two goals on 16 faced shots and splitting the win in the Breakaway Relay Challenge with All-Star teammate Dominik Hasek.
2000 All-Star: Toronto (1999-00 season)
Sami Kapanen (14G, 11A, 25P)
There is a reason that Kasperi Kapanen has always been linked to Carolina in trade rumors outside of his ability as a top-nine winger, and that’s because before him, his old man was a huge part of early Hurricanes history.
Kapanen was a dynamic, scoring winger that terrorized the opposition and while not a huge guy, he had great numbers in Carolina putting up five-straight 20+ goal seasons. At the All-Star Skills Competition, he proved one of the reasons why he was so dangerous on the ice. In the Fastest Skater competition, Kapanen took home first place with a time of 13.649 seconds.
2001 All-Star: Colorado (2000-01 season)
Sandis Ozolinsh (4G, 15A, 19P)
A name that may not be too familiar to Canes fans, Ozolinsh was acquired by Carolina from Colorado in the summer of 2000. Ozolinsh would only play for a season and a half with the Hurricanes, but he made a difference when he was here.
Ozolinsh was a great offensive defenseman, putting together 50+ point seasons seven times, and was having a productive season leading up to his All-Star selection. Ozolinsh was a starter for the All-Star Game and registered one assist in the game for Team World.
2002 All-Star: Los Angeles (2001-02 season)
Sami Kapanen (19G, 24A, 43P)
One of the most impressive midseason performances by a Hurricane, Kapanen booked his second All-Star appearance by putting up an impressive 43 points before January. Kapanen also defended his fastest skater crown winning with a time of 14.039. At the All-Star Game, Kapanen scored a goal and registered an assist to help Team World cruise to a 9-4 victory over Team North America.
2003 All-Star: Florida (2002-03 season)
Jeff O’Neill (12G, 17A, 29P)
The 2002-03 season was a down year for the Hurricanes, but a bright spot for the team was O’Neill. He was putting together a fairly decent season, and one that was good enough for the NHL to give him the nod for an All-Star bid; however, that was about as far as his All-Star weekend went, as he failed to stand out in any event.
2004 All-Star: Minnesota (2003-04 season)
None Selected
2005: Lockout
2006 Winter Olympics: Turin
Eric Cole (USA), Martin Gerbe (SUI), Frantisek Kaberle (CZE – Bronze)
2007 All-Stars: Dallas (2006-07 season)
Eric Staal (17G, 17A, 34P) One Hat-Trick
Justin Williams (19G, 19A, 38P) One Hat-Trick
After having missed out on the last All-Star Game, Carolina was able to send two skaters to the All-Star Weekend in 2007 as they defended their Stanley Cup championship. The duo of Staal and Williams was tearing up the NHL in the first half of the season, with each mirroring their goal and assist totals. The pair posted some of their highest career midseason totals leading to their bids.
In the All-Star Skills Competition, Staal tied for first with Marian Hossa in the Accuracy Shooting competition, with each nailing all four targets with only five shots. In the All-Star Game, only Williams would register a point, scoring one goal.
2008 All-Star: Atlanta (2007-08 season)
Eric Staal (20G, 15A, 35P)
Staal would get his second-straight All-Star bid in 2008 by posting another monster midseason with 20 goals. In the All-Star Game, Staal scored two goals and registered an assist to help Team East beat out Team West 8-7. Staal was also named the All-Star Game MVP.
2009 All-Star: Montreal (2008-09 season)
Eric Staal (17G, 12A, 29P) Two Hat-Tricks
Staal was named an All-Star for the third-straight year in 2009 and would go on to score one goal in the All-Star game, helping Team East win 12-11 in a shootout over Team West.
2010 Winter Olympics: Vancouver
Tim Gleason (USA-Silver), Eric Staal (CAN-Gold), Joni Pitkanen (FIN-Bronze), Tuomo Ruutu (FIN-Bronze)
2011 All-Stars: Carolina (2010-11 season)
Eric Staal (18G, 18A, 36P) One Hat-Trick
Cam Ward (16-11-3, 2 shutouts, 0.927 save percentage, 2.467 goals-against average)
Jeff Skinner (9G, 17A, 26P)
Arguably one of the greatest All-Star Weekends for Hurricanes fans was the 2011 All-Star Game when the game was hosted in Raleigh. The game was originally set to be in Phoenix, but due to ownership problems, the event was put back into bidding. The hosting privilege then came to the Canes, as a nine-year promise from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was kept, who had promised to bring an All-Star game to Carolina if certain season-ticket sales were met.
The Hurricanes had found themselves in another down year and only were able to nominate two skaters, Staal and Ward to the All-Star Game. However, Skinner, who was a part of the Rookie Showcase, replaced Evgeni Malkin who was unable to participate due to injury. Skinner thereby became the youngest ever NHL All-Star.
In the Skills Competition, Ward won the Fastest Goalie pitted against Boston Bruins netminder Tim Thomas who fell going around the net. In the All-Star Game, Staal registered two goals while Skinner got an assist.
2012 All-Star: Ottawa
None Selected
2013: Lockout
2014 Winter Olympics: Sochi
Justin Faulk (USA), Alexander Semin (RUS), Andrej Sekera (SVK), Tuomo Ruutu (FIN-Bronze)
2015 All-Star: Columbus (2014-15 season)
Justin Faulk (6G, 14A, 20P)
Four years after the Hurricanes had their last All-Star, the Canes finally got a representative in the All-Star game in 2015 with Faulk. While he wasn’t having the best of seasons, the league showed mercy to Carolina by allowing every NHL team to send a representative to Columbus. Faulk registered two assists in the game, helping Team Toews defeat Team Foligno 17-12.
2016 All-Star: Nashville (2015-16 season)
Justin Faulk (14G, 16A, 30P)
In his second-straight selection, Faulk showed that he was a great choice to be named an NHL All-Star. In one of the best seasons of his career, Faulk was an offensive juggernaut in 2016.
Faulk even got to finally bring the Hurricanes back some skill representation, taking part in the Challenge Relay. Faulk helped Team Metropolitan win that event and also scored in the Breakaway Challenge later in the night. He registered one assist in the All-Star Game.
2017 All-Star: Los Angeles (2016-17 season)
Justin Faulk (7G, 9A, 16P)
Faulk was having an alright season when he was given his third-straight bid in 2017; however, once in the All-Star Game, Faulk played a huge role in the Metropolitan’s tournament victory, registering a goal and four assists across the two games. His five-point performance was the most by any Hurricane in an All-Star Game.
2018 All-Star: Tampa Bay (2017-18 season)
Noah Hanifin (7G, 13A, 20P)
With Faulk having a down year, Hanifin had stepped up, ramping up the offensive production of the Hurricanes’ blueline. It was a sensible bid and Hanifin really showed off his flow in the Fastest Skater competition, despite not winning the event.
Although he looked the part, Hanifin didn’t put up much in the way of points at the All-Star Game, as the Metropolitan was bounced in the first round.
2019 All-Star: San Jose (2018-19 season)
Sebastian Aho (15G, 24A, 39P)
The first Canes forward to be named to an All-Star Game since Skinner eight years prior, Aho had a strong showing at the 2019 All-Star Weekend.
He finished third in the Premier Passing Competition behind Leon Draisaitl and Brianna Decker, who actually finished with a time three seconds faster than Draisaitl’s. In the All-Star Game, Aho scored two goals and registered an assist as he helped the Metropolitan take its second All-Star Game tournament win.
2020 All-Star: St. Louis (2019-20 season)
Jaccob Slavin (4G, 16A, 20P)
Already known by Hurricanes fans as an elite defenseman, Slavin should have always been considered for the All-Star Game but earned his first bid under less than ideal circumstances. Filling in for the injured Dougie Hamilton, Slavin participated in the Accuracy Shooting Competition, winning it with a time of 9.505 seconds.
Totals
All-Stars by Nationality: Finnish (2), Latvian (2), American (3), Canadian (6)
By Position: Goalie (2), Defenseman (4), Forwards (7)
Most All-Star Game Points: Justin Faulk (1G, 7A)
Most All-Star Game Goals: Eric Staal (5)
Most Appearances: Eric Staal (4)
Most Skills Competition Wins: Sami Kapanen (2 Fastest Skaters)
Most Impressive Invite: Sami Kapanen (43P)
*All season stat totals are through December, as traditionally All-Star picks are made around the end/start of the year.*